Life Lie
by NatNicole
Summary: Trunks has lived 17 years of his life in a war-torn world. So what's a demi-Saiyan to do when he suddenly finds himself given a second chance at childhood?
1. Episode 1

Yes, I am stupid enough to start a new fic when I haven't finished even one of my older ones. Hopefully, I can update them all regularly about once a month so that they'll eventually be finished.

FYI, I've never tried to write angst before, so I can't guarantee this will be able to rival something like 'Point Of No Return' or 'Cold World'. The primary subject of this fic is, I think, family and friendship.

* * *

**Ep.1. Life-changing event**

* * *

A lightly tanned teenager with pale lavender hair that was cut neatly to halfway his ears and sky blue eyes that hid pain and suffering no-one should have had to endure was the saviour of a war-torn world. Trunks Vegeta Briefs was laying on a small patch of half-dead grass on the lawn of Capsule Corp. Or what once upon a time was the home of the world-famous Briefs family, anyway. It was now just ruins like everywhere else, but still a place to live in.

Trunks was looking up at the gray sky with his hands clasped behind his head and one knee propped up. He was wearing a black T-shirt with 'CC' written on it in pale blue and dark grey jeans. The boy – no, man – was frowning, making him look much like his deceased father.

"What am I supposed to do, Mother? Without you here and everyone else dead, I don't even have a reason to live. The world is starting to heal. Am I supposed to stay here on my own and aid with that, or can I actually do something for myself for once?"

Of course, no answer came. Trunks sighed, wishing his mother Bulma Briefs hadn't died from stroke six months ago. It wasn't all that surprising considering the hell she had endured all the while raising her son and not losing hope that the monsters that terrorized Earth would be stopped. Still, that didn't mean Trunks couldn't feel sad and lonely about it.

He sighed again, sitting up with one arm on his knee. "Some birthday..." the Saiyan/human hybrid muttered, and chuckled without humour. "I wish I could see everyone again... Oh well, I've been almost alone all my life 'till now; what difference does being _completely_ alone make? ... Hn, I think I'm going insane, talking to myself like this. Heh, wouldn't be the first one."

Trunks stood up and walked inside his home. He went down some hidden stairs at the back of the ruined compound, to a large bunker where he, his late mother and his deceased mentor Son Gohan had lived. Trunks went through a small hallway to his bedroom and closed the door.

With one more sigh, the demi-Saiyan squatted down on the floor next to his bed and picked up some metallic things. He then returned to the lawn and spread out the two or three device-like objects on the ground, sitting down before them.

He took a capsule case out from his jeans' pocket and opened it, taking out the capsule that was his time machine. With a puff of smoke, the wheel-less vehicle that could travel through space and time appeared beside him. Trunks let a small smile form by his lips, as his one comfort these days was looking at the machine that truly lived up to its name 'Hope!'.

Trunks started tinkering with his metal objects, not really sure what he was even making but deciding he could find out later. He had gotten the idea to build a cross-dimensional communicator for his 18th birthday. He might not be able to travel to the alternate timeline he had created without the risk of unstablising the space-time continuum completely, but he _could_ at least talk to the friends he had made there.

After half an hour of tinkering, Trunks felt his fist ever invention would work. To make sure no-one else could use it, he had placed a drop of his blood onto a tiny sample disk that he then had placed inside the space-time communicator, or as he liked to call it STC.

"Well, here goes nothing," Trunks stated to no-one, pressing the red button on the left upper corner of his hexagon-shaped invention. The small screen in the middle lit up to life but only showed static. "Damn..."

Disappointed, Trunks felt tempted to throw the thing into the nearest rubbish pile. But he decided to be sensible and think what could have gone wrong. The demi-Saiyan suddenly snapped his fingers. "Of course! Man, I'm a complete idiot! I forgot to hook it up with the time machine!"

Trunks at once opened the top of the time machine, took some wires and connected his STC and time machine to each other with them. At once small sparks started to fly when he again pushed the red button.

"Wait, is this supposed to happen?" Trunks wondered out loud when both inventions started glowing and gave off more and more sparks that were getting bigger. He tried to remove the wires, but got a small electric shock. "Ouch. Okay, that's it! I'm turning it off."

However, before he could do that, Trunks's vision went blurry and he fainted in his position halfway inside the time machine. Then, the whole machine along with STC exploded!

Trunks's unconscious body got flung back along with bits and pieces of the machine. But unlike the rubber and metal pieces, the flesh and blood suddenly vanished from existence!

* * *

_Urgh, my head... What happened? ... Wait, why is everything black? Am I dead? ... Weird, last time I died it was nothing like this. I shouldn't be able to feel pain, I think_.

"Trunks, wake up!" a vaguely familiar woman's voice said.

_Huh? Wait a minute, I know that voice. It's Grandma! That proves it; I'm dead. But why is she telling me to wake up? Did I fall asleep in line? Oh well, at least since I'm dead I can see Mum and Gohan again..._

"Trunks, honey? I have a surprise!" the voice continued.

_Surprise? Wait, the last time I heard that was on my birthday exactly ten years ago. My 8th birthday... Could it be that King Yemma's letting me relive my few happier memories while I'm waiting? It could be a reward for killing the Androids and Cell. Okay, I'm gonna open my eyes now._

Trunks's eyelids fluttered open and he saw a woman with short-cropped curly blond hair that was piled on top of her head. "Good morning, Trunks! Happy birthday! I've made a special breakfast for you!"

The demi-Saiyan just stared at her, surprised at the fairly youthful appearance of his grandmother. Then again, if it weren't for the loss of her husband to the heart virus she probably wouldn't have gained the grief wrinkles which were strangely absent right now.

"Morning..." Trunks murmured awkwardly. He wasn't sure he liked reliving _any_ of his memories. Going straight to see his mother and Gohan would be much more appealing.

Trunks got out of bed, still wearing pyjamas, and followed his grandmother to the kitchen. _Okay, something's not right, _he thought,_ And it's not just how weird it is to see her again or how everything looks bigger when you're small. Why is this place so big? And how come I woke up in an actual kid's bedroom instead of my bunker bedroom?_

They entered the kitchen, where someone was already sitting at the table reading a newspaper. "Happy 8th birthday, ma boy. It seems like only yesterday you were just a little baby," a voice Trunks had practically forgotten said. He stared wide-eyed at his grandfather's face when the old man put the newspaper down for a moment before continuing reading it.

"Have a seat. I hope you like the special breakfast; it has all your favourites in it," Mrs Briefs said, pulling up a chair for her grandson and another for herself. They sat down, Trunks forcing himself to remain calm.

A toddler who couldn't be more than two years old maximum was sitting on a high chair. With her light blue hair and sky blue eyes, she looked like a miniature version of Trunks's mother.

_Okay, this proves it. What the hell is going on? This is definitely NOT a memory! Did I fall unconscious and get kidnapped by crazy scientists? Or abducted by aliens who are messing with my mind to see how it works?_ Trunks pinched himself, and yelped when it hurt. _Well, at least I know I'm not dreaming._

"Is something wrong, honey?" Mrs Briefs asked, pausing feeding the toddler small pieces of food.

"No, I'm good," Trunks fibbed, plastering a smile that probably looked as fake as it felt on his face. Thankfully, she bought it.

Someone who looked just like a young version of his mother came running into the kitchen. She was wearing a beige women's business suit and her light blue hair was cropped to a bowl-cut similar to Trunks's style. "Happy 8th birthday, Trunks. I'm sorry that I have an important meeting to go to right now, but I'll be back before dinner time, okay?" She grabbed a peanut-butter-and-jam sandwich from one of the piles of food that were on the table before rushing out of the room.

"O-kay..." Trunks murmured, not sure what just happened. His headache had gotten worse.

One more person came into the kitchen and sat down at the table. If it weren't for the unique very dark brown (it looked black) hair that spikily stuck straight up like a flame and the widow's peak, Trunks could have sworn the person was just trying to pretend to be someone they weren't. But the way he ate, his most distinguishable features and his ki all proved who he was.

The tanned man paused in his eating and looked at Trunks with his onyx eyes. "Is there something on my face, brat?" he asked, the voice bringing back memories of a white void-like place.

No doubt about it. This was his father, Vegeta the Prince of All Saiyans.

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

Whatcha think? I had the idea that it'd be REALLY cool if Mirai Trunks and Chibi Trunks or Mirai Gohan and Chibi Gohan switch places unintentionally. I decided to go with Trunks since there doesn't seem to be any completed fics about this with him.

Is this good? Bad? Discontinue until other fics are done? R&R!

PS. I'm including Bulla since it makes sense for her to have been born during that 7 years gap.


	2. Episode 2

**Ep.2. Freaked out**

* * *

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Vegeta demanded.

Trunks didn't even hear. His mouth was still open, his eyes were wide and all he could think was: _Father?_ At last, he closed his mouth and swallowed, but still didn't say anything. The three other occupants of the table were staring at him, his grandparents confused and his father simply pissed off. The toddler was too busy eating and too young to notice her brother's strange behaviour.

Growling under his breath, Vegeta stood up. "Answer me, boy!" he demanded, but didn't get an answer. His annoyance gave way to slight worry when he saw his son begin to tremble.

_I-impossible! This can't be! Is this some kind of cruel joke by the Kais? What did I do to deserve this?_ Trunks swallowed, willing himself to calm down. He mentally thanked Kami for Piccolo's mindset exercises which Gohan had passed on to him. He smiled a little at the irony; when he first started training he couldn't see the point of spending so much time learning mind-sparring instead of physically training, but now it was the only reason he could calm himself down.

"I don't feel so well. Gotta go, bye!" With that, Trunks darted out of the kitchen before anyone could protest. He returned to the room he had woken up in, and changed into a lime green T-shirt, light blue shorts and white and black sneakers. He then started wandering around in the compound.

Trunks eventually managed to find the way out. The 8-year-old teenager ignited his white aura and flew off.

* * *

"Maybe it's got to do with my STC and the time machine. That's gotta be it. I'm in my younger self's body in the timeline I created. What in HFIL am I supposed to do now?"

Trunks was flying over Mount Paozu, heading there without even noticing it. He stopped abruptly, remaining floating as he glanced around with narrowed eyes. "That ki... Whose is it?"

Looking down at the landscape before him, the demi-Saiyan spotted a small house not too far off. He headed to it and stopped again, gaping at the scene before him.

There was Chichi, Gohan's mother whom he didn't know very well but still recognized. She was hanging up laundry. But that wasn't what bothered Trunks.

No, what bothered him was that a miniature Goku (dressed in lavender trousers and a light blue tunic over a lavender sweater) was playing in the dirt near her, tossing a small stone around and then moving to catch it. He accidentally threw it through a bedspread, ripping a hole through the fabric.

"SON GOTEN! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU, DON'T THROW ROCKS AROUND!"

Trunks winced at the scream coming from Chichi, his ears hurting even at this distance. He looked at the Goku-lookalike with sympathy, knowing full well how scary it was to get either his mother or Chichi mad.

_Son Goten, huh? I guess he's Gohan's brother and Goku's second son. He must have been conceived right before the Cell Games. It's my 8th birthday, so he has to be 6 years and five or six months old. Looks like I'm not the only one who's grown-up without a father. But at least he's lived in peaceful times._

Trunks floated down, catching the attention of both Chichi and Goten. "Trunks! Are you here to play?" the miniature Goku asked at once, rushing over.

"Play? Uuh... I guess...?" Trunks said, unsure. He had never played with kids his own age, at least not in _his_ timeline. _Of course! Goten and the me in this timeline must be friends. Duh!_

"Great! Lets play tag! You're it!" Before Trunks could react, Goten tagged him and raced off. The son of Vegeta shook his head and did the only thing he could think of: chase the other demi-Saiyan.

For about an hour, the two ran around tagging each other, although to bystanders it would have looked like two colourful blurs going past. Trunks's stomach, however, suddenly let out a loud growl.

"Didn't cha eat breakfast?" Goten asked, stopping the chase.

The pale-lavender-haired demi-Saiyan held his stomach, his face turning light crimson in embarrassment. "No," he admitted.

"Lets go ask Mum for food!" Goten decided, taking off running again.

"Wait! I don't want to be a bother," Trunks said, but his words fell on deaf ears. Sighing, the lightly tanned boy ran after his new friend.

Soon enough, the two boys were sitting at the dining table in the living/dining room at the Son residence. Goten tucked in without further invitation, and after watching in mild amusement at his new friend's eating Trunks joined him, shouting: "Chew attack!"

Goten paused in his eating to stare at his best friend in confusion, then grinned and mimicked him: "Chew attack!"

"Are you feeling all right, Trunks?" Chichi enquired after a short while, sounding a little worried.

"No, why?" Trunks asked, swallowing a piece of food.

"You're not eating very much."

At the Son matriarch's words, Trunks froze. He then glanced from Goten's empty plates to his own, and noticed that the Son boy had got through nearly twice as many dishes as he had. In his timeline, he had grown up with limited amounts of food and so had (along with Gohan) adjusted his Saiyan appetite to be much less than it should have been. Of course, the him in this timeline wouldn't have had to worry about something like that.

"I guess I'm not all that hungry," Trunks said semi-truthfully.

"Hi, Trunks! Happy birthday," a familiar-sounding voice said, and again Trunks froze. He turned his head and nearly jumped out of his seat at the sight of a teenager with black hair and matching coal eyes. The teen may look leaner with his hair shorter and more flame-like and there was an obvious lack of major scars no missing left-arm, but this was without a doubt Son Gohan.

"Big brother! Did cha already do all your homework?" Goten asked, eagerly running up to the oldest demi-Saiyan and jumping into his arms.

Trunks's lips twitched into a ghost of a smile, an almost-forgotten memory coming to his mind...

**_Flashback_**

**_"Big brother! Did cha already beat those dumb Androids?" a seven-year-old Trunks exclaimed, running up to an injured teenager the second he entered the bunker. The little boy jumped into his "brother's" arms, almost making the teen topple over._**

**_"Haha, not quite Trunks. But we're getting there, that's for sure," Gohan replied, ruffling his "little brother's" hair. His own palm-tree-style hair was dampened by rain but still stuck in its position in a typical Saiyan way._**

**_"SON GOHAN! Get your ass over here so I can bandage your wounds! You are _****not_ dripping blood all over my clean carpet!" a very familiar woman's voice screamed._**

**_Gohan and Trunks laughed. "Lets go before your mum has an aneurism," the older demi-Saiyan said._**

**_"Yeah," Trunks giggled._**

**_End flashback_**

"So did cha get Trunks a gift? Did cha? Did cha?" Goten's voice broke Trunks out of his memory, and he once again was amused by the antics of the youngest member of the Son family.

"Goten, I've only been awake four hours. How am I supposed to have gone to the shops and back and still have time to do my homework?" Gohan protested, setting his little brother onto the floor.

The 6-year-old pouted. "But I wanted to give him a birthday gift!"

"Goten, don't whine," Chichi lightly scolded her youngest.

"It's okay, Goten. I don't need any gifts anyway," Trunks said. When everyone looked at him oddly, he got nervous and asked: "What?"

"You never say that," Goten blurted out, prompting his mother to hit him upside the head.

"Goten! Manners!" she reprimanded.

Trunks could feel a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his head. He smiled half-nervously and got off the chair. "Well, I have to go. Thank you for the food; it was delicious," he said, bowing a little to Chichi.

"Wow, Trunks, did Bulma put you into an etiquette school or something?" Gohan joked. However, he frowned at the brief flash of something – pain? or fear? – in his almost-brother's eyes.

Trunks left, apologizing to Goten for not staying around longer. As he flew through the sky, the lightly tanned demi-Saiyan was deep in thought.

_I need to get back somehow. It's just plain wrong for me to stay here, no matter how much I'd like it. I gotta give them back their Trunks. But how? ... I know, the dragonballs!_

* * *

Trunks flew to Capsule Corp. and went in through an open window. He wandered all over, looking for the dragon radar. Eventually, he had to ask his grandmother where it was. Thankfully, the ditzy blond didn't ask what he wanted it for or why he had left so abruptly earlier.

Using the dragon radar, Trunks spent the better part of the day flying around the world at his top speed, finding all seven dragonballs. "Dragon, by your name I summon you forth! _Shenron_!"

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

Mind-sparring is something Gohan and Krillin did when they and Bulma were travelling to Namek. It's basically fighting battles inside the fighters' minds, but with no damage to their physical bodies. I figure it requires a lot of meditation and/or control over mind and ki, or something along those lines.

Hint, hint: Trunks is screwed. As for Chibi Trunks, it'll sooner or later be revealed what happened to him.


	3. Episode 3

**Stuck in the mud**

* * *

"Dragon, by your name I summon you forth! _Shenron_!"

The green Chinese dragon appeared, and although Trunks had seen the dragon up close once before he couldn't help feeling a little overwhelmed by its obvious might. "Name your first wish, and I will grant it," Shenron rumbled.

Swallowing, Trunks mentally pushed back his awe and shouted: "I wish my soul would return to its original body in my real timeline while this body regains its original host!"

"That wish cannot be granted; it is not within my power."

"What? What do you mean it can't be granted?"

"Your true body does not exist, nor can this body any longer belong to its original host alone. Your soul is bound to this body through your ki, and should it be removed this body will die. Now name your first wish."

Trunks just stood there, his face a mixture of shock and dismay. "I... I can't believe this... I'm stuck here?" He suddenly felt like he couldn't think, couldn't stand, couldn't _breathe_. It was too much!

The 8-year-old teenager plopped down on the ground, subconsciously crossing his legs. He could hear the thump-thump sound of his heart, his head hurting as if he had a migraine.

Impatiently, after several minutes Shenron demanded: "What is your first wish?"

This snapped Trunks out of his stupor long enough to reply: "I don't have any other wishes, so you can just go."

"Very well." The dragon disappeared in a flash of light and the seven dragonballs turned to stone before flying to different corners of the world.

The demi-Saiyan didn't even pay attention to that. He simply sat there, holding his head with his fingers almost gripping the pale lavender hair.

_I can't believe this... I can never go home. I can't visit Mother's or Gohan's graves; I can't hold collapsing buildings from coming down; I can't visit any of the few places I found comfort in._

Some time passed. It could have been an hour or it could have been ten minutes, but to Trunks it was all the same. He eventually stood up and said to no-one in particular: "Well, like Mum always said, if life gives you lemons make lemonade. Even if that's pretty corny."

Feeling better saying that out loud, Trunks steeled his resolve. "I'll do my best and won't let this peaceful world be turned into ruins like my home world was."

With his mind made up, Trunks took off into the air and began his flight to his new home.

* * *

Upon his arrival, the first thing Trunks noticed was his father's ki nearby. He landed before the front door and mentally prepared himself, not wanting to act stupidly in front of the only father he had ever known.

Vegeta opened the door when the doorbell rang, already knowing it was his first-born who stood behind it. The Saiyan Prince looked at Trunks with narrowed eyes designed to make anybody nervous just by him looking at them.

However, Trunks betrayed none of his nerves on the outside, meeting his father's scrutinizing gaze head-on without fear. Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at that, having never before seen such a look on his son's face.

"Where were you, brat?" he asked calmly.

"Flying around," Trunks curtly replied, his eyes never wavering. It was, after all, somewhat true.

"Hn." Vegeta suspected there was more to the story, so he told Trunks to follow him to the GR (which the demi-Saiyan correctly figured was short for gravity room).

Once inside his personal training room, Vegeta pushed some buttons at the control panel making the gravity go from 1G to 3868G. Trunks could at once feel the pressure, almost falling down on his butt. Vegeta, of course, was far less affected and even whatever strain he did feel wasn't showing.

"Now then, brat, lets try this again. _Where were you_?" The Prince of All Saiyans asked, getting into his fighting stance. The message was clear – answer truthfully or defend yourself.

"I already said," Trunks retorted, taking up the stance Gohan first taught him, which coincidentally was a Demon Style stance. His legs apart, Trunks was crouching slightly so that he looked like he was sitting on air, his fists beside his hips with his arms bent. [In case you don't get it, look at Gohan's stance at the start of the fight against Guldo in DBZ Kai.]

Although Trunks couldn't see it from his father's expression or body language, Vegeta was surprised. He had never seen the boy use that stance before and hadn't even known that Piccolo or, most likely, Gohan had even taught it to him. Granted, it was rare for Vegeta to train Trunks more than once a month unless it was as a punishment, so the boy could easily have learnt the stance in the meanwhile.

Without hesitation, the Saiyan Prince launched at his son, aiming a kick to the smaller male's side. Trunks blocked it with his arm, at the same time ducking to avoid a fist to his head. Less than a second later, a full blown fight was going on.

Wincing at a sharp stab of pain in his head, Trunks did a backflip to get away for half a minute.

He then charged forward, aiming a punch between his father's eyes. Vegeta easily deflected it and struck the demi-Saiyan's side, the blow only partially blocked by Trunks's other hand.

The Prince of all Saiyans then brought up his knee. Trunks managed to bring his hands down, blocking it and forcing it down a fraction. However, Vegeta had expected this.

He instead kneed his son in the lower stomach, making the demi-Saiyan gasp and a few spit droplets shoot out of his mouth.

The fight went on, both warriors trying to best the other with Vegeta obviously having the upper hand. However, Trunks managed to match him pretty well.

After two hours had passed, Trunks flipped back once more and thought: _Talk about déjà vu; this reminds me of the one or two times in the Time Chamber that Father actually trained with me instead of alone. Just like back then, I have to hold back so he won't discover how strong I really am. I wonder if he trained my younger self on a regular basis?_

Trunks was fighting near the max of his base form, not wanting to accidentally ascend and raise even more suspicions. He could feel all of his strength, but he could tell that there was no way to pull out his full strength even if he wanted to – the child's body couldn't handle it yet!

* * *

"Hn. You've gotten stronger," Vegeta muttered, carrying half-unconscious Trunks to the medical bay.

Having had plenty of experience with being only partly conscious, Trunks heard him and smiled a little. _Hehe, I'm guessing that's Father's way of saying I did well._

"Vegeta! How many times do I have to remind you that Trunks is just a boy, not a full-grown warrior!" Bulma's voice screamed, and both Saiyans' ears hurt from the volume. Vegeta rolled his eyes at his wife/mate, who had just turned the corner and immediately reacted at seeing her only son in such a state.

Trunks groaned, fully awakening. "I'm fine," he protested, prompting Vegeta to drop him unceremoniously on the floor by the entrance to the medical bay.

"Since you're awake, you can walk the rest of the way yourself," Vegeta stated, before turning around and marching off to train. Secretly, however, he was pleased with his son's resilience. _To think the brat can handle almost 4000 times Earth's gravity and still remain conscious after a beating while still so young. He has without a doubt surpassed both of Kakarot's brats, although he isn't anywhere near as powerful as the older one just _yet_. But soon enough he will be._

"That asshole! Sometimes I wonder why I put up with him," Bulma grumbled angrily, helping her son stand up and walk into the medical bay while still muttering about "selfish Prince of Arrogance".

"It's all right, Mother, really," Trunks said.

Bulma stopped her rant and stood still. "Wait, what did you just call me?" she asked, looking at her oldest child incredulously.

"Uhh... Mother?" Trunks replied, but it was more of a question. He looked at her confusedly, which she returned.

That only lasted about a few minutes, though. "Guess he hit you harder than I thought," Bulma muttered, dismissing her son's use of the term "Mother" instead of "Mum" as temporary lapse in his usual thinking. "Why did you get yourself in trouble today anyway? Goten and Gohan are going to be here any minute and you can't have your party if you're in bandages and wearing ripped up bloody clothes," she changed the subject.

"Ohm... Oops?" Trunks answered as she set him on a hospital bed and the family doctor started bandaging his wounds. He honestly had no idea what she was talking about, but figured feigning innocence was his best shot at not being discovered. It was bad enough his father suspected something; it would be downright catastrophic if his alternate mother did too.

* * *

"Wow, Trunks, did cha get your dad mad?" Goten asked when he darted in after Bulma opened the front door for his family. Trunks was sitting on the sofa of the reception room, entertaining Bulla by pulling funny faces. He had a bandage on his head and a small one on his cheek. His left arm was bandaged too and another small bandage was on his right knee.

"Kinda," he replied vaguely, stopping playing with his new sister and jumping off the sofa.

The child/teenager had enjoyed getting to know her and had quickly realized that his other self hadn't much liked having a younger sibling if his mother's surprised words were anything to go by. Luckily she was the only one who noticed, as Mrs Briefs thought nothing of the change and neither Mr Briefs nor Vegeta had seen the Briefs siblings playing.

"Trunks!" Bulla protested at seeing her brother apparently ignore her, not wanting him to go back to thinking her as a pest.

"Huh? Oh sorry, Bulla. I was just saying hi to Goten," Trunks said, picking up the toddler and giving her a gentle hug. Still annoyed, the little bluenette grabbed his hair and pulled. "Ouch, stop it! Bulla!"

At Goten's laughing, Trunks shot his new friend a glare. "I don't see what's so funny about this."

Gohan and the demi-Saiyans' mothers came over, all three of them chuckling. "Come on, Trunks, you have to admit it is kind of funny," the oldest human-Saiyan hybrid said.

A memory of when, shortly before the Cell Games, baby Trunks had pulled on his shoulder-length hair flashed through Trunks's mind. He started chuckling too. "Yeah, I guess," he admitted, amused by the once more déjà vu feeling. He held his sister towards their mother, pleading: "Can you please take her?"

"Sure," Bulma replied, picking up her daughter and prying the little girl's hands out of Trunks's hair. "Now who's in the mood for birthday cake?"

"ME!" all demi-Saiyans exclaimed, Goten racing off to the kitchen with Trunks close behind.

"I'll go make sure they don't eat without us," Gohan offered, and raced after them.

As the two families (even Vegeta joined them, not being one to refuse Mrs Brief's cakes and cooking) ate, Chichi and Bulma caught up while the Son boys told Trunks about any new things they had done back at their home. While he blew the candles of his birthday cake, Trunks grinned and made a wish.

_I wish nothing will ruin their happiness._

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

Yep. He's stuck like that all right. I liked putting in those two little déjà vu moments.

PS. Trunks was able to gather the dragonballs so quickly because he flew at his top speed and didn't waste time having fun while he was at it.

PPS. I'm now gonna answer a question raised in a few reviews: Is Chibi Trunks in Mirai Trunks's body? The answer is no.

First of all, Mirai Trunks's body is gone. GONE! DEAD! CAPUT! Even if his soul could be removed from Chibi Trunks's body, there is no way whatsoever to go back into his own. None. Nada.

Second of all, Mirai Trunks is, like Shenron said, bound by his ki to Chibi Trunks's body. If Mirai's soul is somehow get removed from Chibi Trunks's body, the body would stop functioning and die. So, he's stuck like that permanently.

Third of all, for now all I can say is that Chibi Trunks's soul is not in Mirai's body nor is it gone. He will make an appearance sooner or later, probably around the Majin saga.

Hope that clears everything up!


	4. Episode 4

**Ep.4. Learning to live**

* * *

The next day...

"Chew Attack!" Trunks shouted, and started eating in typical Saiyan fashion. After a few mouthfuls, he felt everyone's eyes on him. The 8-year-old teenager looked up, swallowed, and asked: "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"What did you just say?" Bulma asked.

"Uuh... Chew Attack?" Trunks replied uncertainly, shrugging.

Vegeta scoffed and resumed eating. Mr Briefs picked up his newspaper, while his wife hadn't stopped eating in the first place. Bulla the toddler giggled childishly and threw a piece of food at Trunks, hitting his cheek. The older demi-Saiyan wiped it off with his arm, slightly disgusted. But this only seemed to amuse Bulla even more.

"Since when do you say that?" Bulma wondered out loud.

"Ever since I heard Gohan say it," Trunks replied honestly. _Huh. I guess little me never said that. I wonder if the Gohan from this timeline says it... Probably not._

Breakfast carried on normally after that, and when Trunks was done eating he helped his grandmother and the robots to gather the dishes onto the sink to be rinsed and put into the dishwasher. Mr Briefs was too engrossed in his newspaper and cigarette to notice, while Vegeta paid no mind to his son's unusual behaviour and left to go train. The only one who really noticed was Bulma.

_I guess Trunks is hoping to get a raise in his allowance or some new game,_ the heiress thought, shrugging it off as a coincident like the "Chew Attack" thing.

* * *

A few weeks passed, and Trunks began to grow accustomed to his new life.

Every day he would eat breakfast with his family. Afterwards he could either play with Bulla or by himself for a few hours and then have a Saiyan-sized snack, though he preferred to train half the time. Next came three hours with a private tutor (whom Trunks found himself intensely disliking). Then it would be dinner time and again, the whole Briefs family would generally dine together (or inhale food, in Trunks and Vegeta's case). Afterwards Trunks could either play with his sister or by himself, go to Goten's place, or train. The day would end for him at around 9pm after supper, Bulma insisting that Trunks go to bed on time (much to his embarrassment).

"Is it just me, or has Trunks changed lately?" Bulma asked her father one day when they were in one of the labs.

"What do you mean, Bulma? Pass that screwdriver, please," Mr Briefs replied.

Bulma picked up the screwdriver and handed it over. "I don't know; he just seems different. Maybe I'm overthinking things."

But in her heart she knew that she wasn't. The past two or three weeks Trunks had always called Vegeta Father instead of Dad and sometimes even called her Mother instead of Mum. As if that wasn't suspicious enough, her son's behaviour had taken an almost complete 180 turn. Sure, he still was cocky, proud and reckless, but his manners had gotten much better, he was less selfish and he had taken a real liking to his sister. On top of all that, Trunks had started training intensely. Never before had the demi-Saiyan shown his much dedication to fighting. It was as if it wasn't a game to him anymore.

* * *

"What's this?" Trunks wondered out loud, dropping the towel that had been around his neck. He was sweaty and dressed in a green gi with orange wristbands, boots and martial arts belt, having just finished an intense training session. The loose tank top part of the gi was turned inside out and hanging upside down on him like a miniskirt, revealing the boy's physique to be much more toned than any human athlete's.

The pale-lavender-haired demi-Saiyan was in one of the living rooms, looking through a large box of videos to try and learn more about his other self's life. Trunks was certain that his mother would have made videos to capture precious memories; she had done so even with the hassle of the Amdroids' reign of terror.

He found a videotape with a small photo of his baby self's face stuck on it. "'Trunks's and Bulla's firsts'. That sounds interesting," Trunks stated absentmindedly after reading the videotape's title. He stood up from his crouching position and walked over to the video-player, slotted the videotape in, and pressed play.

At once, the TV connected to it flared to life as Trunks sat down cross-legged on the carpet.

**_On the screen was his mother, standing with a baby version of him in front of her. She was holding his hands up and her head was bent down a little._**

**_"Come on, Trunks. Just move you feet. You can do it," Bulma said. _**

**_"No," little Trunks retorted, then pouted with a stubborn look_** that made the watching boy chuckle.

**_"It's okay, Trunks dear. Just take it one step at a time," Mrs Briefs' voice could be heard. She most likely was the one holding the camera. _**

**_Vegeta suddenly walked into the room. He glanced around before his gaze settled on Trunks and Bulma. He titled his head the slightest bit and asked: "What are you doing?"_**

**_"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm teaching Trunks to walk. He's exactly a year old and still hasn't even taken a single step," Bulma replied annoyedly. _**

**_Vegeta smirked, crossing his arms. "Let go of the boy's hands."_**

**_"What?! Why?"_**

**_"Just do it."_**

**_"Fine, but when he cries _you_ will comfort him, got it?"_**

**_Bulma let go and the baby fell on his butt. He blinked and angry tears started to form in his eyes. _**

**_Vegeta rolled his eyes. _**

"Figures. That is like Father," Trunks muttered, but he wasn't surprised or offended. It wasn't as if the Saiyan Prince had showed any indication that he cared for either of his sons other than attacking Cell after the older Trunks died.

**_"Brat, get up," Vegeta ordered._**

**_"Vegeta, I already told you. He can't," Bulma said, but the pure-blooded Saiyan paid no attention to what she said. _**

**_"Brat, I am not going to tell you again. Get up NOW," Vegeta said with finality. _**

**_Baby Trunks scowled,_ **making the real Trunks laugh out loud at how much the toddler looked like his father.** _The baby then placed his palms on the floor, pushing himself onto_ _his feet. He wobbled a little before marching unsteadily over to the Prince. _**

**_Once he reached his father, baby Trunks looked up at the man and scowled again. _**

**_"But, how? And since when did you know?" Bulma asked, her eyes wide. _**

**_"The brat would crawl all over the place, following me and his older self whenever he got the chance. He started walking the day after the Cell Games," Vegeta explained in a tone that made it sound like it was no big deal. _**

"Oh yeah. I forgot the little guy followed me all the time," Trunks murmured to himself.

**_"HE'S BEEN WALKING SINCE HE WAS 7 MONTHS OLD?! AND YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO TELL ME?!" Bulma screamed, prompting the baby and his daddy to place their hands over their ears. _**

**_"Shut up, Woman! You're making our ears bleed!" Vegeta shouted, making his infant son to start crying._**

Even the real Trunks was holding his ears. "Yeesh. Mum really knows how to scream..."

**_The video changed to show Bulla as about one year younger than she was now. She was crawling over to her mother, who picked up the little girl and rubbed their noses together._**

**_She then set the infant own and the camera hiftd to show Trunks and Goten eating cake on the floor. Bulla unsteadily walked, then fell down and crawled over to them.  
_**

Trunks smiled, thinking: _The younger me really was lucky to have a sister. I bet Mum would have loved her. _He felt saddened at the thought of his true mother, but shook his head to clear of it negative thoughts.

**_"Too! Too!"_**** Bulla cooed, putting her tiny hand on Trunks**

**_"_****_No, Bulla. This is my cake," Trunks said, moving away a little so that her hand dropped to the floor._**

**_"Too! Too's cay!"_**** Bulla replied, still smiling. She reached for the cake, but Trunks held the dessert plate up so she **couldn't touch it.

**_"Bulla, I said no! Why aren't you asking Goten instead?"_**** Trunks said annoyedly, standing up and holding his plate higher. **

**_"Too's cay!" Bulla insisted, grabbing Trunks's jeans and pulling herself onto her feet. _**

**_"I think it's more to do with you than the cake, Trunks," Goten remarked innocently. _**

**_"Twunks! Twunks cake!" Bulla giggled._**

**_The older demi-Saiyans' mouths dropped open. "_****_Did she just say 'Trunks's cake'?"_**** Trunks asked, baffled. **

**_"Bulla, can you repeat what you said?" Goten said._**

**_"Twunks cake!" the baby girl repeated, once more reaching for the cake. _**

"Wow... So I'm Bulla's first word. Along with 'cake', that is," Trunks commented to no-one in particular. He pressed the speed-up button to skip forward, but then suddenly pressed pause when he noticed something.

"They must have recorded over the Cell Games tape. I didn't know Mother even had this thing," Trunks murmured, unable to tear his gaze away. There on the screen was the monster who claimed to be the perfect being, the monster who had killed him in the original timeline and this timeline, the monster who was responsible for Goku's death. Cell, Android 21.

Trunks couldn't help recalling that day...

**_Flashback _**

**_"AAAHH! AAH! AAAAHH!" Gohan screamed. The 11-year-old Super Saiyan was being squeezed in a tight bear-hug by none other than Cell._**

**Goku, why?!_ the 17-year-old (19 if the Hyperbolic Time Chamber years counted) shouted in his mind, yet on the outside he was frozen speechless. _He's your son, for Kami's sake! Why would you let him get hurt like this? I understand there can be accidents in battle, but telling your son to fight Cell? That's crazy!**

**_"_****_Your son is in worse agony than he has ever been before in his life!" Piccolo's shout pierced through Trunks's thoughts. He turned his attention to the Namekian warrior and the Earth-raised Saiyan. A shocked and horrified look of realization was on Goku's face before he looked determined and asked Krillin to toss him a senzu bean._**

**_Before the short bald human could do so, however, Cell let go of Gohan. The boy fell on the dirt onto his stomach, breathing raggedly._**

**Gohan... I can't take this anymore! If Goku doesn't do something, I will! _Trunks decided._**

**_Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance as Cell produced seven mini-Cells that he ordered to attack the Z fighters._**

**_End flashback_**

Trunks clenched his fists so hard blood started dripping from them. "It's just like with those two monsters. I was too weak to help Gohan," the demi-Saiyan muttered bitterly. He shut the video-player and TV off, stood up and walked off to go to his room.

He had no idea that in a couple days he would get a shock...

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

Trunks is starting to get used to this new life. Too bad his past still haunts him.

I hope Vegeta wasn't a bit OOC in the video part. Speaking of which, I use _**this**_ for videos and/or TV, **_this_** for flashbacks and dreams, this for Saiyago and _this_ for thoughts. Just to make it clear.

This chapter was completely messed up when I first published it, so I had to fix the whole thing. Thanks for the helpful reviews.


	5. Episode 5

**Pain from the past**

* * *

Trunks was doing one-hand-stand push-ups in the main living room with Bulla sitting on the floor nearby and clapping. "276, 277, 278, ..." the older demi-Saiyan counted, trailing off.

Bulla suddenly turned her head abruptly, sensing two familiar kis. "Marron!" she exclaimed happily.

Trunks stopped moving and looked at her with a raised eyebrow (which made him look a bit funny since his head was upside-down). "Marron? Who's that?"

He got his answer when a familiar looking short man who had a neat mop of black hair walked in with Bulma. Despite the replacement of the gi with regular trousers and a T-shirt and the obvious addition of hair, Trunks recognized the human as Krillin. However, seeing a tall blond woman who carried a three-year-old next to them, the demi-Saiyan was so shocked he lost his balance and fell down face-first.

"Marron!" Bulla said excitedly, standing up and running over to the blond woman. The other toddler smiled down at her best friend and was lowered onto the floor so the girls could share a hug. They then started talking non-stop.

The two women's attention was on the girls, so they did not see the dark look appearing on Trunks's face as he glared at the blond woman. Barely managing to keep himself from going Super Saiyan, Trunks hissed so quietly no-one heard: "Monster..."

"Trunks, buddy? Is something wrong?" Krillin asked, noticing the way his friend's son was looking at his wife. _Why is Trunks suddenly hostile towards 18? He's never looked at her like that before, not even when Bulma explained to him and Goten why she doesn't have ki._ [17 and 18 have no ki coz they're androids, or more like cyborg. Gero placed something into them that makes their ki undetectable despite the fact they're originally human.]

Bulma and 18 turned to look at the boy, and the former's eyes widened at the flash of hatred in her son's eyes. She had years ago seen that look in Vegeta's eyes when the Prince didn't think anyone was looking, but never either of their children's!

_Thank you, Piccolo's mental exercises,_ Trunks thought as he schooled his expression the second he heard Krillin's question. The memory of when Krillin asked Shenron to first turn 17 and 18 back into normal humans, then to remove the bombs from inside them flashed through his mind. _Of course! This 18 is different from the one I destroyed, and Krillin did like her. But I will still NEVER trust her! She could just be biding her time for all we know._

"Trunks? What's the matter?" Bulma asked, snapping her son out of his dark thoughts.

"Nothing. I just remembered that I was supposed to meet Goten today. He must be thinking I'm not coming or something," Trunks lied smoothly. He had no idea where his sudden ability to make up believable untruths on the spot came from, but he was thankful for it. "Gotta go, bye!"

With that, the Saiyan child raced out of the room and exited the compound. He spent the remainder of the day avoiding everyone, which wasn't hard at all considering the life he had lived in his original timeline.

* * *

That night, Trunks was laying on his bed trying to sleep. Keyword being _try_.

He kept tossing and turning, messing up his duvet and the bedsheets. Sweat was glistening on his forehead, his expression pained. Had his eyes been open, they would have been filled with terror and silent rage.

**_Trunks was 13, running through the streets of a demolished city. He was looking for survivors, only to hear a voice he had grown up hating say behind him: "Yo, sis, looks like one survived." The demi-Saiyan whirled around and found himself facing the infamous pair of destruction – the Androids!_**

**_ "Not surprised. For a weakling, this kid really knows how to stay alive," 18 commented with a bored look, her arms crossed._**

**_"Wonder if we can fix that?" 17 said with a smirk that had a callous hint to it._**

**_Trunks shook from both fear and anger. "Just you watch, I'm not going down easy! And even if I die, I'll at least take one of you with me!"_**

**_The demi-Saiyan lunged forward with a battle cry._**

In the younger Briefs couple's bedroom, Vegeta suddenly jerked awake. This made his mate/wife wake up too.

"Vegeta? What's wrong?" Bulma asked sleepily.

"The brat," Vegeta said cryptically, throwing off the covers and quickly grabbing his spandex shorts from the floor.

Assuming he meant their daughter, Bulma got out of bed too and put on a nightgown. "I'm sure Bulla is fine–"

"Trunks's ki feels angry and distressed, and it keeps spiking and lowering constantly."

It took a few seconds for what her husband said to register. "Wait, what?"

Vegeta opened his mouth to explain, with an added insult, but before he got the chance they both heard a sound that was undoubtedly their son's voice. "AAAGH!"

In the memory...

**_"AAAGH!" Trunks screamed, trying in vain to free himself from 17's vice-like grip. The male android was holding the teen's arms while pushing his sneaker-wearing foot hard against Trunks's back._**

**_"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" someone shouted, and a young man covered in a golden aura kicked 17 away from Trunks._**

**_The android skidded a few dozen metres before doing a side-flip and standing on his feet. He chuckled with a smirk. "Heh, looks like Gohan's come to play."_**

**_"Bastard," the only son of Goku muttered, shooting 17 a glare that showed just how much he despised the Androids and wanted them dead. Those eyes had long lost their innocence that the will-come-to-be other timeline's Gohan had._**

**_Still in Super Saiyan form, Gohan picked up his "brother"/student and put one of Trunks's arms around his shoulders to support the younger demi-Saiyan. He flew off, but got shot down from the sky by 18._**

**_"I don't think so. Now that you're here, you can entertain us. The kid was no fun at all," she said with a cruel smile._**

**_It wasn't long before Gohan was fighting the evil duo, only barely managing to match them when they worked together. Trunks tried to help but was constantly slapped or kicked away like he was nothing._**

**_The dream/memory suddenly switched to another place, with Trunks being about a year older. It was the time when Gohan lost his left arm._**

Bulma entered her son's room with Vegeta close behind. Both their eyes widened (though Vegeta's only briefly) at the state the 8-year-old was in. For all intents and purposes, it looked as if he thought he was on a fight-or-die battle field.

"Trunks!" Bulma exclaimed worriedly, rushing to her son's side and placing her hand on his shoulder to shake him awake. She had no idea what would happen in the next fraction of a second.

Suddenly Trunks was pinning her to the floor with his right hand gripping her neck and his left hand drawn back in a fist. As if the scene wasn't shocking and scary enough, the boy's now-golden hair was spiked upwards so it was almost horizontal and his eyes were teal instead of sky blue. Trunks was a Super Saiyan.

And his formerly innocent-ish eyes now held a look befitting an assassin.

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

Trunks really can't get a break, can he? Poor kid...


End file.
